It’s been quite a week. With democratic processes upheld and the country resuming economic activity, we can move ahead, although covering business developments feels unusual following the recent events and the attempt to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power.

Putting aside these significant political developments, there is considerable activity within the startup ecosystem that deserves attention.

The frequency with which new unicorn companies are being announced appears exceptionally high, potentially indicating that private investors expect valuations to stay strong, and that the venture capital landscape favoring later-stage companies will persist throughout the year.

The Exchange provides insights into startups, markets, and financial matters. Find it each morning on Extra Crunch, or subscribe to The Exchange newsletter on Saturdays.

As our readers may remember, we observed at the end of 2020 that “the creation of new unicorn companies continued to be remarkable.” This trend from late 2020 is now shaping the story of 2021.

To provide some background, seventeen companies achieved unicorn status in the United States during the third quarter of 2020. We are awaiting the figures for the fourth quarter, which should be available within the coming week. As the final quarter of last year began, there were over 200 unexited unicorn companies operating in the United States.

So far, four new domestic unicorns have been identified in the first week of the first quarter of 2021, along with at least one additional company based internationally.

It’s important to note that announcements regarding private funding rounds typically follow their completion, meaning the deals we are currently discussing likely finalized in the fourth quarter of 2020, rather than the first quarter of 2021.

Which startups have attained the $1 billion valuation necessary to be considered a unicorn? The list includes Divvy, Hinge Health, Salesloft, Starburst Data, and Mambu. Lacework and iboss are also potential candidates, as are Ikena Oncology and Senti Biosciences.

Let’s examine these funding rounds to determine if any patterns emerge from the available information.

New-nicorns

Divvy recently completed a funding round, securing $165 million and achieving a company valuation of $1.6 billion. This represents more than a doubling of its previous private valuation, which was approximately $700 million.

Utah’s increasing number of unicorn companies demonstrates its development into a significant technology center. Divvy joins Podium, which reached unicorn status in 2020, and other successful companies like Qualtrics that originated in the Silicon Slopes region.

TechCrunch reported on Hinge Health’s latest funding, which ultimately totaled $310 million at a $3 billion post-money valuation. Initial reports had estimated the round at around $300 million with a $3 billion valuation.

PitchBook data indicates that Hinge Health’s valuation was only $406 million during its April 2020 funding round. The company’s substantial increase in value within a relatively short timeframe is noteworthy.

Hinge Health, as described by Steve O’Hear, is a company headquartered in San Francisco that delivers a digital platform for the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.

Salesloft has also achieved unicorn status. The sales-enablement company increased its post-money valuation from $555 million in 2019 to $1.1 billion this week, according to PitchBook data.

The company, located in Atlanta, announced that its recent $100 million investment had propelled it into unicorn territory and that it had “more than doubled recurring revenue” since its last funding round.

Starburst Data is another recent addition to the unicorn list. This funding round is significant for two reasons: the startup is now valued at $1.2 billion after raising $100 million in a single round, having previously raised just over $63 million.

Furthermore, PitchBook data shows that the enterprise software startup was valued at only $351.25 million after its June 2020 round. This illustrates the rapid growth in value observed among these new unicorns, with Divvy’s valuation increase appearing modest in comparison.

Mambu is also among the newest unicorns. TechCrunch reported that Mambu provides the underlying technology for companies seeking to introduce new financial products, such as credit lines or deposit accounts, without needing to build everything from scratch. Supporting other fintech companies is proving to be a successful business model.

The Berlin-based company raised approximately $135 million this week, resulting in a valuation of just over $2 billion. PitchBook data shows that its prior private valuation, before this latest funding, was around $181 million, demonstrating a significant multiplication of its valuation.

Who else?

Now we turn to companies that potentially achieved unicorn status.

Lacework, for instance, recently secured $525 million in funding with a valuation exceeding $1 billion. Determining if this represents a new unicorn is difficult without knowing its previous valuation, but the rapidly expanding cloud security company undoubtedly satisfies the current valuation threshold.

Several other companies, including Ikena Oncology and Senti Biosciences, both completed substantial nine-figure funding rounds this week. While we don't have enough information to confirm they've reached a $1 billion valuation, calculations suggest this is a possibility. We might even include iboss – which also recently raised nine-figure funding – in this group.

Is all of this clear? It’s a bit confusing, to be honest. However, this illustrates the speed at which private market valuations are increasing and unicorns are emerging in 2021. Notably, as I am writing this, the Nasdaq Composite has just achieved a new record high. It’s certainly an unusual year.